Joshua Barney

Josh joined the Health System in 2011 as a writer and editor. He previously worked at The Daily Progress newspaper in Charlottesville, Va., first as a reporter and then as an editor. He is a graduate of UVA. Josh primarily covers research and the School of Medicine.

Researchers from the University of Virginia have established new guidelines for scientists mapping out the body molecule by molecule to help us better understand how our cells use metals such as iron and magnesium to maintain good health. The guidelines ultimately will benefit the battle against diseases such as cancer, assist in the development… read more >

A scientist at the School of Medicine, working with local biotech company HemoShear Therapeutics, has created a 3D cancer model that can replicate the complex nature and behavior of a real tumor. The model will help researchers better understand the disease and accelerate the development of new and better treatments.

A special recovery program for thoracic surgery patients developed and implemented at the University of Virginia Health System is getting patients home sooner while decreasing both healthcare costs and opioid use, a review of the first year of the program shows.

Using a homemade, high-tech microscope, scientists at the School of Medicine have revealed how a cancer-causing virus anchors itself to our DNA. That discovery could pave the way for doctors to cure incurable diseases by flushing out viruses, including HPV and Epstein-Barr, that now permanently embed themselves in our cells.

A School of Medicine researcher’s pioneering work in childhood cancer has been honored as one of the top 10 clinical research achievements of 2017.

Daniel “Trey” Lee, MD, a pediatric oncologist at UVA’s Children’s Hospital, has been developing a new gene therapy to battle treatment-resistant leukemia in children and young adults. Known… read more >

A naturally occurring version of the gene KLF14 affects some women’s body fat distribution and puts them at significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
The gene variation specifically affects tummy and hip fat, causing cells to become fewer but larger.
Women who are pear-shaped as a result of this gene don’t have… read more >

Researchers at the School of Medicine and George Washington University School of Medicine have discovered how a gene variant found in 48 percent of the population can limit the body’s ability to eliminate excess salt after high-salt meals.

Having this gene variant increases the odds of having blood pressure that is sensitive to salt,… read more >

The University of Virginia neuroscience lab that discovered that the brain connects directly to the immune system now has found evidence that doctors could load up the brain with custom blends of immune cells to battle genetic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The UVA researchers were able to “engraft,” or establish, immune cells… read more >

Babies who died in their sleep while being watched by someone other than parents often had been placed in unsafe sleep positions, such as on their stomachs, or in unsafe locations, such as a couch, a new infant death SIDS study has found.

In response to the troubling findings, the researchers are urging parents to… read more >

In the culmination of decades of research at the University of Virginia Health System, doctors have begun human testing of a drug they hope will one day save many lives among lung transplant recipients.

The drug, regadenoson, is already commonly used to image cardiac patients’ hearts. But the UVA research suggests it could be… read more >